One of the biggest stories in food in recent years was the sudden rise of the Popeye’s chicken sandwich, which took all its rivals, especially Chick-fil-A, by surprise and ignited a Twitter battle. Nothing that dramatic has happened in c-stores, but the principle remains the same: Be Popeye’s, not Chick-fil-A.
7-Eleven has kept tabs on the competition in another way. Everyone knows that Starbucks releases its pumpkin spice latte at the end of August. 7-Eleven now releases its own pumpkin spice coffee drinks on August 1.